SB, so it all comes down to military risk, something about which I have a great deal of experience. A military under pressure at a time of war. The temptation is always to press on, in this case we almost had a 2nd tragedy. When will we learn from our American allies? You cannot do war on the cheap, it costs lives.
Has the new Nimrod got fuel tank protection? It bloody well should have.
The decision to continue flying AAR in exceptional circumstances did not affect operational flying because the 2nd incident occurred in theatre. Did the AAR course at Kinloss continue? If so, will someone care to explain the exceptional circumstances?